Plumbing designer? How interesting! I remember seeing a Discovery Channel show about toilets and how they are designed and made. We take for granted how much work goes into carrying our waste out of our homes.

Welcome to :roundel: ! There are plenty of noobs here and plenty of salty old BMW vets too. I'm sure there are some with well over a dozen BMWs owned, plus some with BMW motorcycles too. Noob tip: A BMW car is a "Bimmer" and a BMW motorcycle is a "Beamer/Beemer". That is a critical distinction and a major faux pas in hardcore BMW circles. I also appears you are hip to the "E codes". Any true BMW enthusiast knows the E, and now F, codes.

I got my first BMW in 1993. It was a 1992 E36 325i sedan in Jet Black with Parchment leather. I was very, very exciting. I had only owned Japanese cars up to this point but family members had owned many BMWs so it was my turn. (There is a baby picture of me sitting in my father's Bavaria many years before this E36!) That E36 got me into vehicle mods and I haven't looked back.

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I don't know if I am a seasoned vet, but I have had 5 in the past few years. Never more than three at a time, though.

To me, any day with a new car is a good day. A day with a new BMW is a great day.

When I was parking cars in high school in the 1970s, at a high end restaurant, I got to drive everything from a big block Corvette to a Rolls. There were quite a few VWs thrown in, usually belonging to guys out to impress their date. They were the best tippers, as I recall. If the car was good, we took the long way around the block to the parking lot. Anyway, one day I parked a BMW Bavaria 3.0, with a 5 speed manual. I can still recall the sense of that car, how it drove. I decided at 16 that I was going to own one some day. It made far more of an impression than the Vettes, Mustangs, Cudas, etc. More than any Mercedes or Rolls did at the time.

I worked on BMWs occasionally throught the 70s and early 80s. Drove lots of 2002 models, a nice 3.0CS that belonged to a regular, some Bavarias, etc. Then moved on to a new career.

Flash forward to 1994. Bought a 3 series, because I was back in the city and didn't require the 4wd truck I had been driving for years. Great car. Then I got transferred and had to sell it, it wasn't the vehicle for the far north.

Flash forward to 2002. Moved back to the same city. Bought a 3 series. Then an X5. Then a Z4 for sunny days. Paid too much each year in insurance. Traded the X5 and Z4 for a 535i. Bought an X3 as well because we wanted a small SUV. Now we are down to the X3 only. We both drive it. I asked my wife what she wanted next. She thought an X1 or new X3, until she found out it would have to be an automatic. She wants to keep the E83 X3 instead. It should be good for quite a few years.

Yes, I remember how it felt the first time I drove one.

Congratulations on your purchase. Enjoy it.

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2007 X3 3.0si, 6 MT, Premium, White

Retired:
2008 535i, 6 MT, M Sport, Premium, Space Grey
2003 X5 3.0 Steptronic, Premium, Titanium Silver
2002 325xi 5 MT, Steel Grey
2004 Z4 3.0 Premium, Sport, SMG, Maldives Blue

There's a keeper!



A

Lol

That's why I married my wife. Her z3 was her daily driver until kids then we acquired a us spec e61 msport 535i touring that was manual. Loved my m5 and now the x5m but that little twin turbo all wheel drive stick wagon is still the most fun to drive..

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Welcome! I purchased my new to me E53 back in 06. It just came off of a 3 year lease and only had 30k on it! It was in mint condition and very pretty! I joined this wonderful site and got the mod-bug pretty badly! The car looks totally different today.

I recently purchased a 2013 328ix! I miss the X but at 160k it was time to think of another car. Gas and maintenance repairs were adding up. A friend if mine now has the X. My husband enjoyed driving my X but actually loves driving the 328i. He likes the 4 cylinder turbo as do I. Plus I filled my tank yesterday with $45 oppose to $100! Oh yeah!

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Mari

I traded-in my 2000 Land Rover Discovery II for 20002 X5 3.0 in 2005. Best trade I made. The BMW I6 is more responsive than LR V8 and the X5 drives much better. No better car for a DD than a bimmer, but wonder what I'm gonna do when they give up. New models are nice but not DIY friendly.

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00 E39 DINAN S1 //M5 (82k miles)
06 E53 DINAN 4.8iS, born 2/18/2006 (126k miles) http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...s-my-dslr.html
90 Straman Z32 TwinTurbo Convertible, (1 of 44 ever made) 5 speed, 444rwhp/451rwtq
01 360 Novitec Spider F1 (26k miles)

My wife told me she had to have a manual trans, myself also, so I just found a nice X5 6 speed manual 74k with out too many bells and such and it has the spring suspension and handles great in the Rockies and more than enough power. But of course I had to train the wife of 33 yrs what real driving was all about. One hand on the wheel and one on the shifter. She remembers her first Beemer 1980 320i 5speed to this day, but it still sits in the garage in need of a few things. It is a blessing to have a wife that shares the same love of cars.

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2006 X5 3.0 6speed manual,74K cold weather pkg, spring suspension,pano, sterling grey, grey leather, business radio, auto climate,